


The Kids Aren't Alright

by pbandfluff



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Warehouse 13
Genre: F/F, Injury, Mild panic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 08:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10553284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pbandfluff/pseuds/pbandfluff
Summary: When your girlfriend's an Agent, and you're a Companion, things can get blown out proportion, including your fights.(In which Ace and Claudia try to be hardasses in a fight, only for everything to remind them they're really just dorks in love.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Can I write for this pairing without having them fall asleep with each other? Probably, but why ruin a good thing.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm _leaving_ ," Ace spat out over her shoulder, ripping her jacket off the back of Claudia's chair. "I didn't come here to be yelled at."

"Fine," Claudia snapped back, scrambling from the bed to stand opposite Ace. "You know what? _Fine_. **_Go_**."

" _Fine_ ," Ace agreed mockingly, throwing the door to Claudia's room open and slamming it behind her after storming into the hallway. She clenched her jaw as she turned towards the stairs, throwing her jacket on with sharp, tense movements.

Not bothering to try and lighten her steps, she stomped downstairs and into the living room, breathing heavily through her nose as she marched up to the Doctor.

"Professor," she grit out, coming to a stop next to his chair, "can we leave? _Now_?"

The Doctor tilted his head up from his cards to look at Ace. "Ace," he exclaimed happily, frowning when he saw the thunderous look on her face. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's peachy, Professor," Ace quipped sarcastically. "Can we go?"

From across the card table that sat in front of the Doctor, Artie lifted his gaze from the game of cribbage laid out and peered at Ace over his glasses. "Are you and Claudia fighting?" he asked accusingly, laying down his cards and bracing himself on the edge of the table.

"Yes, we're fighting," Ace snapped, eyes flashing as she glared at him. "You got what you wanted. Happy now?"

Artie deflated as if hit, but Ace ignored him to turn back to the Doctor. "Can we go or what?"

"Ace," the Doctor began uneasily, "we've only just arrived. Artie and I-"

"Nevermind," Ace cut in bitterly, turning away from the Doctor and walking away. "I'll be in the TARDIS," she called over her shoulder, exiting the B&B and closing the front door with a resounding slam.

Artie and the Doctor flinched as the whole house shook, drawing a few of the household members to peek their heads out of their respective locations to find the source of the loud interruption to their day. They were both silent as they listened to Ace make her way around the house towards the TARDIS, and flinched once more when they heard her begin to yell about her knapsack, which Claudia had decided to throw out of her window, scattering bottles of Nitro-9 and personal belongings onto the grass below.

The Doctor sighed as he laid his cards down on the table, reaching for his hat and umbrella. "I suppose I should go try and sort this out."

Artie huffed, adjusting his glasses and rising along with the Doctor. "Good luck with that," he offered, glancing up in the direction of Claudia's room and shaking his head as music began filtering through the walls.

Hat donned and umbrella hooked on his arm, the Doctor stood at attention and faced Artie. "Raincheck, my good man?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Artie mumbled, nodding. "Raincheck."

The Doctor nodded, bowing slightly before turning and heading towards the front door. Artie pinched the bridge of his nose as the Doctor closed the door behind him, grumbling under his breath about making cookies as he headed towards the kitchen.

  
-  
 

Five days later found Ace elbow deep in her tinkering.

Scattered remnants of wire and gears littered the console room of the TARDIS, with Ace herself hunkered down on an old workbench that had appeared somewhere around day 2 of her self-imposed work schedule. The Doctor had made an effort to get Ace to talk, or at least distract herself, but Ace was as stubborn as she was strong, and the older man endured the silent treatment for only so long before recognizing there was little he could do and leaving it be.

Ace's initial anger had burned off quickly, leaving her for the most part ready to make amends with Claudia, but the same stubbornness that kept her silent kept her angry, and so she decided to keep to herself until Claudia contacted her.

It was with this mindset that Ace answered when she got a call from Claudia's cell phone.

"Hello?" she greeted gruffly, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder as she twisted a series of wires together.

There was no response, so she sighed and switched the phone to her other ear, reaching for her soldering iron. "Hello? Anyone there?"

The other end of the line was still silent, and Ace growled softly as she set aside her tools to firmly grasp the phone in a proper hold.

"Look, Claudia, if this is you," Ace began, using her feet to slowly drag a toolbox towards the workbench by its handle, "This isn't a great time, so if you could call back or-"

"Ace."

Ace sat up, confused as Artie's voice echoed across the phone line. "Artie?"

"Ace," he began again, "Hello."

"What are you doing on Claudia's phone?" Ace demanded, leaning forward and bracing herself on the workbench.

Artie was silent for a moment before heaving in a shuddering breath. "Ace, there's... There's been an accident and Clau- Claudia's been hurt."

For a moment, the words didn't even register with Ace. They seemed like a foreign language she only half-understood and half cared for.

When they did register, the air suddenly went out of the room as Ace's throat closed up tightly. A still coldness settled over her as her stomach dropped, and she gasped lightly as her mouth gaped.

"Ace?" Artie asked, his voice sounding far away through the static of the phone, "Ace, are you still there?"

The sound of Artie's voice flipped something inside of her, and instead of a cold dread, all she could feel was the scalding heat of wanting to see Claudia, of needing to see her. Scrambling over the workbench, she kicked and stumbled her way through her tools and gadgets up towards the console, surging forward as her feet hit clear ground and slamming her heels down to come to a stop next to the TARDIS controls.

Brave enough this time, or perhaps not willing to care enough to wait, Ace's eyes flickered over the TARDIS controls and reaching out with surprising steady hands, began flipping switches.

The TARDIS roared to life underneath her, and Ace gave a grim grin as she felt the ship begin to move. Mimicking the same series of switches and pulls she'd seen the Doctor make dozens of times for this specific flight, the man in question didn't seem to notice his ship was being commandeered until the characteristic left-leaning lilt right around the moon tilted the TARDIS sharply.

By the time he'd recovered from the turn and hurriedly made his way into the console room, vacillating between muttering deathwish scenarios under his breath and shouting rhetorical questions to the nature of what the hell did Ace think she was doing, he was only able to catch a glimpse of Ace's hair and dark jacket as she burst through the TARDIS doors and sprinted towards the B&B.

The Doctor sighed, grateful, at least, that the TARDIS was in one piece. The sound of a tiny voice pricked his ears, and he glanced around the room before his eyes fell on the discarded phone.

"Hello?" he offered after picking up the phone and placing it to his ear.

"Doctor, is that you?"

"Yes, it is," the Doctor replied to Artie, his voice growing suspicious. "I take it this has something to do with Ace's sudden need to fly the TARDIS to the B&B?"

  
-  
 

Outside, Ace all but flew across the small field towards the B&B. Stumbling once, she caught herself mid-slide and continued to pump her legs forward, not willing to take the time to regain her balance. The porch stairs she took two at a time, not bothering with pleasantries and barreling through the front door. It wasn't until she was stood in the middle of the foyer, ears filled to rushing with the sound of her heartbeat and chest burning as she gasped for gulps of breath, that she considered pausing for a moment and not storming up the stairs to Claudia's room.

"Ace."

The startled name came from her left, and Ace turned blindly in that direction, swaying dangerously as Helena's face swam in front of her own.

"H.G.," she gasped, stumbling forward slightly as the other woman walked up to her. "Where's- where's Claudia? Ar- Artie said-"

"Ace," Helena said, her voice firm as she slid her hands around Ace's elbows and helped brace the younger woman. "Ace, you need to breathe."

"No," Ace swallowed thickly, only just noticing how tight her throat still was. "No, Artie- Artie said- Claudia, I need-"

"You need to breathe," Helena ordered once more, shaking Ace slightly.

Ace finally relented with a strangled gulp of breath, leaning forward and resting her forehead on Helena's shoulder. One of the hands at her elbow let go to shift to her back, rubbing soothing circles as her chest heaved with her breathing.

For long moments Helena stood cradling Ace as her breathing stuttered and slowed, finally leveling out to something closer to normal.

"C'mon," Helena murmured as she slowly turned Ace towards the stairs, "let's go see Claudia."

Ace nodded, letting Helena lead her up the stairs and to the door to Claudia's room. They arrived just as Myka was slipping out, and she held the door open for Ace, meeting Helena's gaze worriedly over Ace's shoulder.

Ace stepped through, keeping her gaze pinned to the wall above Claudia's bed until Myka closed the door behind her and she was left alone with Claudia. Exhaling shakily, she closed her eyes for a moment and lowered her gaze to Claudia's bed when she opened them.

Claudia was sleeping, laid out in the middle of the bed with her sheets tucked under at her waist. Ace recognized the oversized t-shirt she wore as one of Claudia's numerous 'nightgowns', and noticed gauze wraps peeking out from underneath the sleeves and collar of the shirt. A few scratches dotted Claudia's face, with only one of them sewn shut with stitches.

Ace took it all in with an almost hollow reservation, dropping silently into the chair that had been pulled next to Claudia's bed. Reaching out, she gently took Claudia's hand in her own, first pressing it to her lips before leaning over and bracing her elbows on the side of the bed, cradling Claudia's hand as she began to keep watch.

  
-  
 

"Claudia? Claudia, are you awake?"

The voice was whispering somewhere above Claudia, and she rolled her eyes around in their sockets as she slowly gained consciousness.

"Myka?" she mumbled, groaning as she tried to shift her body and was met with dull pain.

"Hey, you," Myka whispered, and Claudia cracked her eyes open to find Myka smiling down at her.

"Did we get the artifact?" Claudia slurred, pushing through the pain to lift herself up onto her hands and slide up on the bed.

"We did," Myka answered succinctly, reaching out and helping Claudia move. "Just don't try to diffuse another bomb anytime soon, alright?"

Claudia laughed, wincing as the movement pulled at her ribs. "Yeah, well, thought I'd try. I did manage to get the main charges diffused, just like Ace..."

At the name Claudia trailed off, eyes going flat as she remembered the argument they were in the middle of.

"Actually," Myka began uneasily, wringing her hands slightly, "about that. There might have been a phone call made by Artie-"

Something shifted off to Claudia's side and she turned, her breath catching in her throat as she noticed who it was.

Ace was precariously curled up on Claudia's desk chair, head dipped down to rest on her own shoulder. Her hair was down and loose around her face, blowing back and forth slightly with each of Ace's slow breaths.

"She showed up right after Artie called her," Myka explained as Claudia stared at Ace. "She won't leave. Leena's had to bring her meals up here, she refuses to move."

"How- how long...?" Claudia trailed off, pulling her eyes away to turn to Myka.

"You've been out for about 3 days."

"Three days?" Claudia breathed, turning back to Ace. "She's been here for 3 days?"

Myka hummed in response, suppressing a smile as she watched Claudia's hand creep towards where Ace's was stretched out on Claudia's nightstand.

She rose, patting Claudia's leg as she turned. "I'll leave the two of you alone for a while."

"Alright," Claudia whispered faintly, gently tracing Ace's fingertips with her own.

Myka paused in the doorway, giving one more final look Claudia and Ace's way before closing the door behind her with a smile.

Claudia stared at Ace, continuing to her tracing of Ace's hand. The gentle scrape of Claudia's nails made Ace's hand twitch, and Claudia watched as it jolted Ace partially awake.

Ace shifted, flexing her hand and uncurling the other one from underneath her chin to tuck her hair behind her ear. She blinked a few times, eyes bloodshot as she rubbed at them with her fist, and yawned widely.

"Ace," Claudia called out softly, watching as Ace jolted to attention, eyes wide and unfocused as they bounced their gaze around the room.

"Ace," she called out once more, meeting Ace's foggy gaze with her own and smiling. "Hey."

"Claudia," Ace breathed, still for a moment before frantically untucking her legs from underneath herself.

She stood, and promptly fell as the blood rushed her to legs and they refused to work. Undeterred, she shuffled forward to the edge of the bed on her knees and grasped at Claudia's hand before clutching it in her own.

"I take it you missed me, then?" Claudia quipped, attitude disappearing as she took in the gaunt look of Ace's face. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I took a nap," Ace answered distractedly as her eyes roved over Claudia's face, unable to draw herself away now that Claudia was awake.

Claudia was silent for a moment before patting the bed next to her, pushing herself to the side of the bed as she beckoned Ace. "Come sleep with me, then."

Ace paused, and Claudia could see the pained look on her face as she worried over hurting Claudia.

"I'll feel better with you here," Claudia cajoled, tugging lightly on Ace's hand. "C'mon, Dorothy Gale."

Ace's eyes shot up to glare at Claudia, and she huffed as she swung herself up onto the bed and fitted herself next to Claudia. "Well, now I know you're feeling better."

Claudia laughed, turning into Ace's embrace and snuggling up to the other girl. "Sleep. You can yell at me for calling you Dorothy later."

Ace huffed, but didn't say anything, letting herself drift off to sleep along with Claudia.

  
-  
 

Claudia slowly drifted into consciousness, confused as her eyes blinked opened to find the room swathed in darkness. She took in a deep breath, trying to remember when she had fallen asleep when a shaking next to her disturbed her thoughts. She rolled onto her side, only to find Ace facing away from her, curled up tightly and twitching now and then.

"Ace," she began sleepily, scooting over to press up against the other girl, "Ace, what's-"

Her question died in her throat as she realized the other girl was sobbing, her hands clapped over her mouth to muffle her noise.

"Ace," Claudia breathed, her heart clenching painfully as Ace sobbed even harder at the sound of her name. "Oh, Ace. C'mere."

Fitting her arm around Ace's waist, Claudia made soft shushing noises as Ace finally relaxed and began crying into the room.

"It's ok," Claudia murmured into Ace's hair, pulling the girl tightly against her, "I'm ok. We're all safe now, Ace. It's ok."

Ace clutched frantically at her hand, drawing it up to press it over her heart. Claudia soothed her once more, laying gentle kisses to the nape of her neck. Eventually Ace's cries tapered off as she exhausted what little energy she had. Claudia sighed in relief as Ace drifted off to sleep once more, for now at peace.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, nosing deeper into Ace's hair, "For the fight. For scaring you. For being stupid just to spite you."

Ace didn't respond, but Claudia didn't care and kept talking.

"I'm not leaving you," she continued, pressing her hand even closer to Ace's heart, "Not ever if I can help it."

There was silence in the room, and Claudia knew she would have to repeat her words when Ace would be able to hear them, but she was content for the moment and drifted off as well, even in her sleep clutching at Ace protectively.


End file.
